Dark Secrets
by Phimi
Summary: Alex is free from Mt.Aleph, and finds himself with enemies everywhere. So when a warp goes wrong, can he pick up the pieces and start again?
1. A Fresh Start

Yes, another Alex-after-alchemy-after-Isaac fanfic, but with a difference. A small one, fankly I'd be amazed if you noticed it, it's only the basic plot of it. My first fic, so if you review, some healthy criticism will probably be in order, I can tell just reading through it theres some kinks, but I'm not sure how to undo them, so, anyway, on with the show!

Dark Secrets

Chapter One

He let out a groan as he tried to move his legs, but found he was unable to do so. Alex took consolation in the fact he could still move his head, and did so now, finding himself a few hundred feet below where he first was, as he could see the leaves on the trees clearly, as opposed to the field of green he saw when he first scaled the mountain. Looking down at his body, he immediately saw why he was unable to move. Psynergetic bonds held him fast, and knew instinctively that it would be impossible to break them at once, but instead began weaving his newly enhanced powers through them, loosening the bonds, until he could move his limbs, but not enough to get up.

"Ahh, I never though that being able to move would be one of the greatest things I ever felt." he said to no-one in particular. Looking upon his body again Alex noticed that the containers strapped to his side had come loose when the Wise One slammed him against the ground, and deduced they must have rolled off the mountain, having caught something red in the corner of his eye at edge of the flat he was imprisoned on, shortly after the Wise One had left him to die.

"Now, let's get these things off, I have some important business."

* * *

"Hey, Isaac, guess what I found near the ruins."

The two boys walked side by side through Vault, the smaller, blond one nodding politely at passers by. It had been four days since Vale had sank into the ground along with Mt. Aleph, and people were beginning to look through the ruins, after Felix and Kraden had assured everyone that the ground was safe to walk on.

"*sigh* what did you find Garet?"

"I said guess!"

"Fine, a dead body?"

"Nope."

"A meteorite"

"A what?

"Just tell me Garet."

"This!" The red-head exclaimed, brandishing a small red tube.

Isaac brow furrowed, worry plain on his face. "Umm, Garet," He said. "Do you know who that belongs to?"

"No, should I?"

"Yeah, it's Alex's. Thing is, what's it doing in Vale?"

"I dunno, should we ask Kraden?"

"Garet, what would Kraden be able to tell us? Hmm? No, what we need is a Jupiter Adept." Isaac said, already jogging off towards the centre of town and the Inn in which Ivan and Sheba were staying.

* * *

In the Inn, Ivan looked up from the book he was reading when he heard knocking at the door. Getting up from his bed, he walked to the door and opened it. He was greeted by the sight of a disturbed Venus Adept and an exhausted Mars Adept.

"Oh, Isaac, Garet, what do you want?"

Isaac groaned. "Lay off it, Ivan. You know what we want; I'm amazed you weren't standing next to the door looking very smug."

Ivan smiled sheepishly, looking at the floor as he cheeks went red. He had made it very well known throughout town how well his future-seeing ability was coming on.

"Well, there was a really good bit in my book, I didn't want to put it down."

"Whatever, we have a little bit of a problem."

"Ah yes, Garet found something, didn't he?" Ivan flashed with Psynergy briefly. "Wow, he found one of Alex's tubes! And I guess you want me to find out how it got here?"

"Ivan, we told you before, don't read our minds, we're bigger than you." Garet warned.

"Uhh, yes, yes you are. Sorry guys. Really. I mean it."

"Ignore him Ivan, can you find out how it got here?" Isaac said.

"'Course I can, I just Mind Read the object, since it has been in contact with an Adept, for presumably a long time, so Alex's Psynergy will have left a footprint, of sorts, on it. So a Mind Read will tell me what happened to it to become separated from Alex and the Psynergy."

"Thanks, now I can't remember Kay's birthday because of all that." Garet moaned.

"It's in 10 days, and how long will this take Ivan? Isaac questioned.

"Oh, not long, not long, about half an hour."

"Ok, me and Garet will be in town, he needs to get his sister a present, and we both need to get Jenna something for her birthday too, so if we're not here when you've finished, just check the shops." Isaac said.

"Haven't you guys looked in it yet? The tube I mean." Ivan asked.

"No, we haven't. He was always pretty secretive about why he did what he did, maybe we can find out." Garet said, reaching out to Ivan for the canister, only to see Ivan already opening it.

"Nothing in here but some coins and a map of Weyard." He said, turning the tube upside down, emptying the contents on the floor. "Wait, He's numbered the map, look." Ivan walked across to the desk in the corner of his room, and spread the map out.

"He's put one on Mt. Aleph, two on the Mercury Lighthouse, three on Venus Lighthouse, four on Jupiter Lighthouse, then five on Mt. Aleph again." Isaac said.

"That was our big adventure, all the lighthouses." Said Garet.

"No, not all of it, we went to Mars Lighthouse too, didn't we? So why did Alex go to Mt. Aleph instead?" Ivan asked.

"No idea, but I've got a feeling it has something to do with Alchemy. Looks like you were right Garet, we should go see Kraden." Isaac admitted.

"Finally, I'm right, I was starting to get sick of being wrong." Garet said loudly

* * *

Kraden was looking furtively around his one room cottage on the outskirts of Vault, desperately trying to find a Psynergy Stone for an experiment when a knock at the door drew him to attention.

"Who is it?" He called, hoping it wouldn't be Garet. His endless moaning and frankly, his denseness was beginning to annoy even Kraden, who had praised himself on his patience.

"Isaac and Garet,"

Kraden swore, and moved to the door, hoping that Garet had become mute in the twelve hours since he saw him last.

"Hello you two, "Kraden exclaimed as he opened the door, covering up his disappointment at Garet been there. "What do you need?"

"We need to know about Alchemy, particularly concerning Mt. Aleph." Isaac demanded.

"Well, it was the resting place of the Elemental Stars, as you know, and it is there that it is said the Golden Sun would rise when all four Lighthouses were lit, and the Stone of Sages would be created at Mt. Aleph's peak."

"Of course, the Stone of Sages! But what would Alex want with it?" Isaac commented, mostly to himself.

"Alex?" Kraden asked. "Didn't the Wise One say something about Alex at Mars Lighthouse?"

"I think so, my memory's a little hazy since he sicked a three-headed dragon that was actually my dad and Jenna's parents on us." Isaac shuddered at the memory of almost killing his own father.

"Well, I'm sure he did. Didn't he say Alex was at Mt. Aleph?"

"Yeah, but the Wise One took care of him didn't he? He told us that when we got home." Garet said, recalling seeing a giant one-eyed floating rock talking to them after they had found out that the residents of Vale had not perished with the town.

"Well, yes, but if Alex obtained the Stone of Sages, then he might actually be more powerful than the Wise One, but if that's the case we would be in considerable danger, but since it's been four days, and we've seen neither hide nor hair of Alex, I presume it's safe." Kraden said, walking around the room.

"So, it's okay? No danger or anything?" Garet asked.

"Oh yes, quite alright. Now, if you wouldn't mind leaving, I'm in the middle of an experiment, please leave." Kraden insisted, gently pushing the duo towards the door.

"OK, OK, sheesh, we're going." Isaac said, opening the door and walking out,

"Well, that's a load off my mind; the world is finally safe from evil people and the forces of nature. It's about lunch now, isn't it? I'm going to the Inn, you coming Isaac?" Garet asked.

"Yeah, might as well. We've had our weekly talk to Kraden, nothing else to do around here." Isaac said. The pair set off towards the Inn, and a steaming hot meal.

* * *

On Mt. Aleph, Alex was almost free of the Psynergetic bonds placed upon him. As he worked upon them, he cast his mind back over what happened. Looking back over his life, Alex found he was treated with distrust almost everywhere he went. He wished now he'd been more open with his goal, maybe it wouldn't have gotten him lying, trapped on top of a mountain half sank into the ground. Maybe trying to summon a storm on Vale and attacking the protector of Alchemy was taking his new powers a bit far too. Pulling himself out of his reverie, Alex looked down and found his bonds were gone. Lifting himself up on his arms, he fell back from exhaustion. Alex remembered that he had been a week without food or water, the sheer strength of his Psynergy had kept him alive so long. Casting his mind over his powers he found his warp ability and teleported to the first town that came to mind: Imil.

Alex reappeared outside the Inn, and immediately cried for help. The Innkeeper rushed out straight away, and, finding a blue haired man face down in the snow, picked him up and carried him inside. He sent his wife to get the local healers, Justin and Megan. The young boy and girl hurried straight to the Inn. Inside, they didn't recognise the man they were directed to, but remembered that Mia had often talked about another person with blue hair, after many people had inquired about hers.

"He seems in a bad state, but there's no injury, he just seems starved," Justin said.

"Could we ask you to look after him for a while, he should be up on his feet in about a week." Asked Megan.

"Oh, yes, of course. We'd better let him rest, I'm amazed he had the energy to get into town, let alone shout as loud as he did." The Innkeeper said, ushering everyone to the door, following them out.

A week later, Alex was indeed walking around, and feeling better about coming to Imil. The hospitality offered by the villagers was unmatched throughout Weyard, and he was soon on the mend. All the time he laid in bed, he plotted, searching through his memories, to find a way to get the last part of Alchemy from Isaac. He had managed to evade Justin and Megan's questions about his hair, and whether he knew Mia by saying he was travelling around the world, and was in fact from Osenia, where many people had blue hair. This satisfied the pair, and he announced his plans to leave. Just before he did, he paid a visit to the Sanctum, where Justin and Megan were.

"I have everything to thank you for, you saved my life, and I won't forget that anytime soon, thank you both so much. I only wish I had something to give you, but I lost everything coming through Bilibin Cave. Perhaps my travels will bring me back one day, and if they do, I will be bringing the love of my family with me. This town is lucky to have you, you know?" Alex trotted out these lies without regret, knowing he would never see them again, no matter what he said.

"Well, it's in our nature to help, we're healers. Don't worry about it." Megan said, blushing as she did. Justin nudged her and smiled. She looked at her feet, a little embarrassed Justin had found out about her fancying Alex.

"I'd better be off then, the world awaits!" Alex declared, promptly turning round and walking out of the Sanctum, and eventually the town. Looking back over his shoulder, Alex decided he had come far enough from Imil to warp away.

Reappearing next to Xian, he executed the plan he had formulated in Imil. Walking through the quiet town, he approached the dojo at the northern end of town. As he walked through the doors, he cast a spell upon everyone in the dojo, a disguise/mesmerising spell, one which would make him appear to be Isaac to everyone who noticed him. Knocking on the door immediately next to the entrance, he was confronted by a purple haired girl, surprise on her face. The surprise turned into a slow smile as she saw who it was.

"You came back!" Feizhi said, wrapping her arms around him. "You got my charm! Oh, Isaac, I'm so happy to see you. Father has been trying to get me to marry Hsu, but I told him no, Isaac will come back to me!"

"It's okay," Returning the hug. "I'm back now, but I can't stay, I have to see Master Hama, There's some things I need to discuss."

"Okay, I'll see you later then, I'll tell Father the good news!"

"Yes, you do that, I'll be back in about two or three hours." Alex turned and left the dojo, walking westward, towards Lama Temple.

Walking through the temple doors, Alex recast his disguise, and looked around the room, his gaze settling on the figure sat on the floor. The figure raised its head, as if knowing he was looking directly at it.

"Ahh, Isaac, you're here, I thought you would. But, no-one else? You came alone? I would have thought Ivan would have wanted to come, I am his sister after all."

"No, he couldn't make it, something to do with Sheba, I don't know." Alex circled the room, eventually stopping just behind Hama. He slowly pulled a knife from his belt, and held the hilt so the blade lay flat against his wrist. "I just needed to see you, after you helped us on our quest, and your predictions of the future were helpful too, and that's partly why I'm here, you have warned us of things before, and I just wanted to say thank you."

"Well, it was all to save the world, so there's no need to thank me; I did my bit, just as much as you Isaac."

Behind Hama, Alex lifted his arm to strike her down, when Hama's leg abruptly snapped back, sending him flying back to slam into the wall. Alex grunted in pain and surprise, his disguise gone and looked up to see Hama on her feet, charging at him. He quickly warped behind her and slashed at her back with his knife, but missed as she threw herself to the floor, and span her feet round, catching Alex's legs and knocking him over. She righted herself up to a crouching position and slammed her right hand into his chest, forcing him into the ground and driving the breath from his body. Hama stood up, hands on her hips, waiting for Alex to get up and have another go. After five minutes with Alex not moving, she started to turn to inspect the slightly smashed wall. Halfway through her turn Alex warped to his feet and froze Hama's feet to the floor with his Psynergy. He then used his power to push her, as he had the Wise One, but with her feet rooted to the floor, she couldn't slide backward, only bend at the ankles until they snapped. Alex unfroze her feet, and, picking her up by the shoulder with one hand, held his other hand out and froze the water in the air to form an ice spear, which he levelled at her throat. Just before he could force it through her flesh, Hama summoned all her strength and flung her right hand towards his neck. The blow connected with the nerve cluster at the base of his neck, and he crumpled to the floor, unconscious. No longer with her support, Hama also fell to the floor, her feet useless, and shouted for the monks outside to help her up and tend to her ankles.

"This man tried to kill me, his name is Alex. Take him to the Alpine Crossing and leave him there, some people might find him, and whatever they do with him is their choice." She said as the monks busied themselves around her, taking the smashed planks of wood, choosing lengths the right size and fixing them to her feet, so her bones would set in the right place. "Also, send a messenger to Vale, they might be in danger."

* * *

First chapter done, I think this will be a long one, so bear with me. And yes, Alex got owned by Hama, and yes, Hama did use her future telling to know what alex was gonna do at the start of the fight. Don't worry though, I'm about to start the main plot, probably next chapter. Don't forget to review!


	2. A Cell Away From Home

While Alex was lying in the barren Alpine Crossing, Piers had arrived in Lemuria, having opted to try to gain entry, hoping against hope that Conservato had not dared to confront King Hydros to actually prevent him from re-entering, and had set off in his ship soon after the Valeans had been found safe and sound, eager to see how the sudden outburst of Alchemy had affected his home.

It had been a sad departure, especially for Sheba, who had often looked to Piers for support, whether in-battle or outside of it, due to him being such a kind and dependable person. Some of the others had worked out that if Piers were not allowed back into Lemuria, then he would either be thrown out again, or put to death do disobeying the Senate. The Adepts had offered to accompany him, as should Pier be taken to the metaphorical hangman, then they could mount a ridiculous rescue plan, and be hounded halfway across the Sea of Time by the remnants of the Lemurian navy.

Piers shook his head until he was alert, it would be no good to have come this far and hit a reef whilst daydreaming. Chuckling at the indignity of it, Piers turned the wheel to the left and pulled his ship into port.

"Ahh, I was expected." Piers said as a gangplank was placed across the chasm between his ship and the harbour. "The lookout must have spotted me coming, and told Hydros. It seems Alchemy has already set to work here then, not a month ago people could barely be bothered to leave their houses."

The people who boarded his ship were not who Piers had been expecting. Instead of the regular harbour guards, the Senator's guards had arrived, and, amongst them, Piers spotted Conservato. At the sight of him, Piers' heart rate sped up. This person was willing to have let the world decay and die, and had the affront to enforce banishment himself, even though Lemurian law stated that anything as serious as that would have to be passed by majority vote in the senate and then approved by the King. King Hydros had been opposed to Piers' banishment, and as such, it was annulled.

"Piers, for breaking the Senates decree of banishment, as well as the initial Senate law of the incapability of a citizen of Lemuria to leave his or her city, and for acts of destruction against the world and its people, you are hereby imprisoned for life. And don't think of appealing to Hydros to help you, He will be joining you in your cell." Conservato recited from a scroll. "Your dear friend Lunpa struggled, and he was killed in an instant, so I advise you not to follow his lead."

Piers was furious. "You can't do this, only the king has this sort of power! And you've put him in jail!"

"Oh, poor, dense Piers. I haven't done anything of the sort; the king is standing right in front of you." Conservato said, a smug smile plastered across his face. "Soldiers, take this filth to this cell."

"What?! You can't do this Conservato!" Piers shouted as the soldiers grabbed him and dragged him off his ship through the city. It was shaming for him, as he was paraded throughout Lemuria as a criminal, and the looks of scorn from the people lining the roads cut him deeper than any wound he had suffered in battle. Eventually the troupe reached the jail, and bundled Piers inside roughly. Inside, the dank room seemed to shrink as the truth dawned on Piers. Conservato had overthrown the king Hydros, and lied to the people to cast a bad light on Piers and his friends. Piers had no doubt that if his friends showed up, they'd be killed on the spot. He also realised that Alchemy had indeed taken affect here too, as this sort of action had not happened in Lemuria for as long as anyone could remember. Piers was dragged down a narrow corridor lined with doors. He was thrown into a cell with one other occupant and had barely picked himself off the slime covered floor before the door was slammed behind him.

"The nerve of Conservato. I saved this city, and this is the thanks I get?" Piers moaned, lifting himself off the floor. "And who are you? I might be spending a while in here, so I might as well get to know the public."

The man lifted his head and looked out through filthy hair which fell in front of his face and stood up from the bench that ran the length of the left wall. "Piers, you don't recognise me, do you? It's Hydros."

Piers was distraught how the once mighty ruler of Lemuria, the only surviving participant of the Alchemy wars, had become a dried up husk of his former self. "What? How did you end up like this?"

"That Conservato, he revolted, soon after you left. He brainwashed his guards with all the Alchemy destroying the world nonsense, and stormed the Palace. They killed half of the Palace servants and captured the rest. They dragged me here and I've only seen another person when they brought my food. But it's good to see you, my boy. I presume the Lighthouses have been lit?"

"Yes, we managed it, with help from some of Felix's childhood friends. It was a relief that they chose to help us, they are fearsome in battle. I don't think we would have won against them."

"Well, I'm glad you managed, and that you're alive, but I had hoped you would not try to come back, Lemuria changed when the Golden Sun rose. Ancient Lemuria drained off almost immediately. From what we can tell, Poseidon has also calmed down, but that's the end of the good news. Lemurians have become more active, which is what caused Conservato to overthrow the city." Hydros said, sitting back on the bench. Piers sat down next to him.

"I just can't believe he would do this, I thought the soldiers were loyal to you, not Conservato."

"So did I, but what's done is done. Hopefully they'll see sense and end this charade. The people need a king, not a Senate, all they do is argue. The people will overthrow Conservato, it's only a matter of time."

Alex groaned as he awoke, pain shooting through his head. He was getting sick of being beaten up now. He hadn't been able to kill Hama, and now the Adepts would be warned to his presence. Alex sat up groggily, and cast Ply to rid his headache. He felt an immediate rush, and the pounding in his head disappeared. `He knew now that his plan to get to Isaac and claim the power that was rightfully his would be a lot more complicated, but he was assured that the answer would be simple. Brute force. He would charge in, cause as much damage as quickly as possible, and plunge his blade into Isaac's throat, and teleport away before anyone knew what happened. Smiling at his own brilliance, Alex stood up, and pictured Vault in his mind, and warped to the peaceful village.

The monk from Lama Temple was just passing Vault and about to start the trek around the mountains to get to Vale when a blue clad figure suddenly appeared amidst flashing lights about 15 feet in front of him. All the monk could do was stare as the man looked around. Catching sight of the monk, Alex turned fully, facing him. The two stared at each other for a long time before Alex said "I know you, you were at Lama Temple. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to Vale, on behalf of my master, Hama."

"Okay, well, to go ahead with my plan I don't want you spoiling it, so I'm just going to kill you now, okay?"

"Sorry, what?"

"I'm going to kill you now. Do you want it to be quick and painless or slow and agonising? I know how you monk types have strict rules governing everything you do, including how you die."

"Are you serious?"

"Yup, I am actually going to kill you in about ten seconds."

"Why? I haven't done anything to you. I don't know what I've done to deserve such aggression. All I'm doing is goi-." The monk was cut short by Alex warping behind, grabbing his neck and twisting it violently to the side with a sharp crack. Alex let go, and the monk slid to the floor, dead.

"I told you ten seconds. You should have used that time to get yourself into an honourable position, now you just look like a fool, albeit a fool with a messed up neck." Alex said, not realising he was talking to himself. "Well, Isaac is in Vault seen as Vale is about a hundred feet below the ground right now, so I'd best be dropping in and saying hello."


	3. Unleashing The Power

Long time since I last uploaded, so, I'll brief. Sorry for the wait anyone who was waiting.

* * *

In Vault, Isaac wandered the streets after his meal with Garet. Garet had started talking about his adventures, not really noticing the fact that Isaac was with him on ALL of them, but the arrival of his food quietened him down to just rather loud chewing, which had annoyed Isaac to no end. He wanted some peace and quiet now, a headache setting in that seemed to just get worse whenever he used Cure, so he headed to the cemetery for a lie down among the tombstones. At least they were quiet. When Isaac got to the cemetery, he sighed in relief. Despite being a small town, Vault could get quite busy at times. Walking amongst the graves, he closed his eyes and breathed deep, and only realized his mistake when he was about half way through the inevitable fall as he tripped over a low grave, and hit his head on another grave with a sharp crack, and immediately fell unconscious.

* * *

In a different part of town, Mia was looking for Isaac, a little worried after Garet had told her of Isaac's headache that resisted Psynergy.

"Isaac! Where are you?" She shouted, getting desperate as thoughts of the Mercurian Flu which had killed her father started working their way into her mind. Mercurian Flu was like the Imil Flu, but seemed to resist Psynergy and actually feed off it, as it only affected Adepts, and got stronger the more it was attempted to be healed. Mia's father had fought it for 2 weeks, before he eventually succumbed to it. During that time, she wasn't allowed to see him, and the last she saw of him was when he was taken out of the sanctuary by the townsfolk. Alex left the following week, leaving Mia to care for all of Imil herself. She started running, getting frantic now. She had searched almost all of town, and had to accept it would have been faster if she told Garet was what wrong instead of dashing off without a word. Mia had only the graveyard to look in, and sprinted across town to find Isaac lying on his stomach, with his head turned slightly, and a cruel welt across his forehead.

"Isaac! Oh, the Elements, what's happened?" Mia said, turning Isaac over. Fearing the worst, she decided not to try Psynergy in case it was Mercurian Flu, and instead opted to rest her hand on his forehead, as the M-Flu would be characterized by an abnormally high temperature. Mia gasped as Isaac's forehead burnt. Knowing she couldn't drag him into Vault, Mia ran back to Garet at the Inn.

"Garet! You've got.... to help! Isaac is ill, I need... you to bring him back..... here from the graveyard!" Mia cried, short of breath. Garet immediately took off at sprint towards the graveyard, and a minute later came running back with Isaac in his arms, still unconscious.

"Take him to his room in the Inn, put him in his bed." Mia instructed Garet, holding the Inn door open. Garet bounded up the stairs and laid Isaac on his bed.

"OK, I got him here; now tell me what's wrong Mia." Garet said, straightening up as Mia came into Isaac's room.

* * *

Outside Vault, Alex walked slowly to the rock wall surrounding the town. He quickly scanned the town with Mind Read until he found Isaac's thoughts, and found they were coming from the Inn.

"Perfect, and what's this? Two friends, the oaf and.... Mia. Great." Although Alex knew she hated him, and would stand in his way, he could not bring himself to harm her. Mia was his one weakness.

"Well, I'll just have to put her to sleep then."

* * *

Back in the Inn, Mia suddenly felt tired. She couldn't even tell Garet what was wrong. She had just enough time left to slump into the chair opposite Isaac's bed. Garet dismissed it as stress over Isaac's well-being and sat down himself.

* * *

"There, just the oaf left. Ohh, this is going to be fun." Alex said to himself, pushing himself off the wall he was leaning on. Walking into Vault, he was almost immediately spotted by Sheba leaving a house near the entrance.

"Alex!" She shouted, "What do you want?"

"Straight away, you assume I'm up to no good. Have I ever given you reason to think like that?"

"You kidnapped me, left me, Felix, Jenna and Kraden for dead on Idejima, got two cronies to intimidate us, tried to steal Alchemy, and then attacked The Wise One. That enough reasons for you?"

"OK, fair enough, you've got plenty of reason to mistrust me. So I'll repay that back."

Alex flashed with Psynergy at the last word. The ground shook, tore open, and huge rocks and pure Venus energy ravaged Sheba, hurling her backwards through the wall of the house to bounce off the back wall, unconscious.

"That was too easy. I thought she was meant to be powerful. Oh well, no use in complaining. Now, where's that Inn?" Alex mused to himself. The villagers watching backed off at this, until Alex flashed again, flung his hand through the air, and they were all borne on a powerful wind and thrown across town to the rock wall surrounding it. Alex smiled as he heard bone crunch on the impact, and set off towards the Inn. The instant he noticed it, he was thrown to the ground as a Dragon Fume impacted against his back. Shaking his head to clear the stars in his vision, Alex cast Douse on his smouldering clothes, Ply to heal his burns, jumped to his feet and turned around to see Jenna, standing ready with her sword glinting in the sun and her left hand ready to throw more fire Psynergy at him.

"Can't you people ever just give it a rest?" Alex asked, summoning masses of Ice Missiles and raining them down upon Jenna, who melted them before impact with a Searing Beam.

"It appears we can't, even after we've just saved the world. Now, are you gonna get your ass out of here before I melt it off?"

"Hmm, I'm afraid I'll have to decline to both." Alex said, before teleporting behind Jenna, grabbing her, and using his Psynergy to augment his strength, tossed her through an upper floor window of the Inn.

* * *

Inside the Inn, Garet was almost asleep, oblivious to the battle raging outside, when Jenna hurtled through the window and hit the floor hard. He jumped up and checked Jenna to see if she was alright. She seemed fine, just unconscious, so he looked out the window and saw Alex heading into the Inn. Knowing Psynergy was not his forte, he looked around for a weapon, and saw Isaac's dagger on the desk opposite the window through which Jenna had soared a moment ago. He grabbed it, and tried to wake Mia, as even Garet could work out if Alex could beat Jenna without breaking a sweat, he'd definitely need help. He shook her by the shoulders hard, but she wouldn't wake.

"Mia! Mia, you've got to wake up! It's Alex!" Garet shouted in her face. Mia stirred, turned her head and went back to sleep.

"Great, Isaac's ill, Mia won't wake up, Jenna has been thrown through the window, and Felix is off in Vale looking for his stuff. I better get Ivan." Garet said. At that moment, there was a loud crash. Garet ran to the door, opened it, and saw an Ivan-sized hole in the wall opposite his room.

"Crap!" Garet swore, slamming the door shut and pressing himself against the wall. He held the dagger in his right hand, and raised it, waiting for Alex to come through the door. Footsteps outside approached the door, then stopped. Garet held his breath, ready to bring the dagger down in Alex's chest. That didn't happen. Alex teleported in front of Garet, and ran at him, grabbing his right hand and pushing him into the wall with his own right hand. Garet lashed out with his left, dealing Alex a nasty hit to the face. Alex didn't falter, and slammed his own hand into Garet's neck, choking him. Garet desperately clamped his free hand over Alex's face and used all his Psynergy funnelling fire into Alex's face. Alex flew across the room, fell on his back, leapt to his feet and healed his burns. Garet heaved a laboured breath, his windpipe no longer crushed. Alex flashed, and Garet was trapped in an iceberg. Alex relaxed slightly after seeing Mia sleeping soundly and Isaac unconscious on his bed. He walked slowly to the bed, not rushing the final part, and held Isaac's head in both his hands. He closed his eyes and breathed deep, searching Isaac's core for the final part of Alchemy. Isaac started shaking as Alex forced his probe through his mind. The bedclothes ignited as Isaac's temperature soared, but the flames did not harm either Adept. Isaac opened his eyes and grabbed Alex's shoulders. Alex opened his eyes at this, sure that Isaac should still be asleep. His eyes met Isaac's, and saw they were red instead of their usual blue. Isaac flashed with Psynergy, and flames erupted from his hands, slamming into a shocked Alex and throwing him through the wall. Isaac followed him through the hole with flames from his hands powering him through the air and into Alex, who lay on the floor, a distance from the Inn. Alex was stunned by the blow, and Isaac rained blow after flaming blow on Alex's chest and face. Alex's Psynergy reacted without him thinking of it, blasting a jet of water into Isaac, flipping him off Alex and into the wall of a house. Free from the ferocious pounding, Alex, quickly healed himself, slammed water out of hands and flew into Isaac from the force of the water hitting the ground. Alex teleported himself with Isaac high into the air, dropped him, then threw lightning, bolt after bolt, down onto the stricken Venus Adept, then teleported to the ground beneath him, summoned an ice spear, twirled it in circles before smashing it into the falling Isaac, sending him crashing through a house. Alex walked briskly through the holes in the house to Isaac lying on the ground on the other side.

"You've learn some new tricks since we last met, but I've learnt more." Alex said, opening a rift in the ground next to Isaac. "I'd like you to meet some friends of mine. Fantastic people they were, until years of horrible torture in the afterlife embittered them to all life. Fortunately, I can control them with Alchemy. Well, fortunately for me that is, not so much for you."

An ominous howling rose from the pit, followed by spirits floating through the air, mouths wide open in a constant scream.

"Those......Aren't......Real. I.....Can tell. There is no after life." Isaac managed, struggling to get up, as the spirits thrashed into him whenever he got onto hands and knees.

"Aww, can't you ever just have a bit of fun, forced hallucinations are brilliant." Alex said, dispelling the illusions with a wave of his hand.

"Can we get back to killing each other now?" Isaac said, standing up with flames licking around his hands.

"First, a few deductions, I need to clarify a few things out loud. I can't see into your head, and you have Mars Psynergy. I presume that's from the Mars Stars part of The Golden Sun. I'll let you live if you let me have it."

"He set out on that quest to stop exactly what you're asking for, and while I do want to be with my Brother Elements, his will is law in this body."

"Wait, is Isaac a schizoid or something? Oh, wait a minute, there's symbiotic Elements in his body, they've formed a personality."

"OK, enough clearing it up for the reader, I've got a lot of rage to blow." Mars-Isaac said, creating a fireball in his hand and threw it at Alex. Alex was caught off guard and the flames impacted against his chest, knocking him back into house.

"OK, that's it, we end this now!" Alex shouted, throwing himself at Isaac, and warping away. There was a bright flash, and all was quiet. The people of Vault came out of whatever shelter they had found during the fight and started helping those villagers injured in Alex's wake.

* * *

Back in the Inn, Mia suddenly woke up with a start. She remembered Garet shouting something about Alex, but had thought it was a dream. Looking around the room, Mia gasped as she saw Jenna lying on the floor and quickly healed her. Jenna didn't wake, but her cuts cleared immediately. Mia got up, saw Garet gasping for breath surrounded by a pool of water, the iceberg he had been trapped in melted the instant Alex warped away with Isaac. Mia ran outside, and started healing the villagers, not noticing Isaac was missing.

* * *

Please review, I need as much positive criticism as you can dole out, I can tell my writing style's rubbish.


	4. A Strange Place

Isaac was thrown back into a cold, hard wall and fell to the floor, unconscious. Alex walked over to him and looked down at Isaac.

"What's going on in there?" Alex said to himself crouching down and tapping Isaac on the forehead. "What are you thinking?" He stood, shook his head, and looked around. They were in a large room, lit from the ceiling instead of from the walls, and not by the usual torches, by strange boxes. Alex pushed them from his thoughts, and sat down against a wall. The wall itself was strange, very hard and seemingly made from a single stone

Alex looked over at Isaac and saw he was coming round. He warped next to Isaac and created a ball of lightning in his hand. Isaac looked up and saw lightning sparking in the corner of his eye. He looked over and saw Alex aiming his hand at Isaac's head.

"Now then Isaac, I'll keep this simple. Give me the Mars Star's power, or I will kill you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You must not remember. I was about to take the power from you in Vault, but it was unleashed, we fought a bit, and I warped us here." Alex left out that he didn't know where "here" was. He thought it best to at least look in control. "And so, I repeat, give me the Mars power or I'll kill you."

"You'll have the full power of Alchemy; I can't let you have that power. You failed forcing the power from me, and if it would escape my body if I died, I'd already be dead. You're just going to have to kill me."

"It's a shame that you don't think I will." Alex said, pulling his arm back, preparing to throw the ball of lightning at Isaac. Isaac quickly cast Quake, knocking Alex off balance and causing the ball to strike the wall and explode in a blast of lightning bolts.

"Good move Isaac, but do we have to start this all over again?" Alex said, picking himself up from the floor.

"Only because I have to stop you."

Isaac drew his sword, and cast Odyssey. Alex shrugged off the attack, and created a powerful spout of water underneath Isaac, blasting him into the low ceiling. Isaac fell hard, and groaned while casting Potent Cure. He suddenly felt something welling up in his chest, an unbelievable heat. The heat spread to his mind. Isaac grabbed his head as the heat started to burst through as flames from his eyes and mouth. He fell to his knees, shaking his head from side to side, his head now a ball of fire. As suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared back inside, and Isaac fell on his side. Alex walked over cautiously, in case the Mars power had taken control again. Isaac launched himself from the floor; his forearm wreathed in flames, and punched Alex with his flaming fist. Alex flew across the room and thudded to the floor. He jumped to his feet and launched a continuous stream of Ice Missiles in retaliation. Isaac quickly surrounded himself with a wall of flames reaching to the ceiling. The Ice Missiles melted as soon as they touched the fire wall. Isaac dispersed the flames, and launched himself at Alex, slamming him into the wall.

* * *

Meanwhile, not too far away, a young guard couldn't believe what was on his screen. Originally, he thought it was his buddies, interfering with the feed to trick him, but the scans had come back clean. Guards were trained to act first, explain later. In the event of an intrusion, the guards were to contact the Security team, who would detain, question, and dispose of said intruders.

"Security team to investigate one possible intrusion in Event Room 3, Main Complex. Repeat, Security team to Event Room 3, Main Complex." The guard said into a radio on the desk in front of him. He quickly looked away from the screen, not wanting to see what would happen next.

Isaac launched a fireball at Alex, exploding on contact. The shockwave crushed Alex into the wall hard enough to crack it. Alex fell to his knees, out of breath as his Psynergy quickly healed his wounds.

"Whoa, any more of that and it wouldn't be fun." He panted.

Isaac opened his mouth to respond, and would have continued the banter had the lights not suddenly been extinguished. Isaac glanced around in the dark, paranoia setting in fast.

"What now, Alex, huh? Skulking around in the dark? You were always a coward, running away when something gets too hard."

"That wasn't me fool," Alex retorted, before the far wall imploded and bright shafts of light shone through the hole.

Isaac sensed movement behind the lights, and then stared in wonder at the thin red beams of light illuminating his chest. He glanced over at Alex, noting the same beams directed towards his chest. A voice ripped through his amazement, a shouting in an alien tongue. The shouting ceased, then a moment later, one the beams moved from his chest to just above his head. Isaac heard a soft _thwip_ and felt a slight wind disturb the hair sticking up from his head. Isaac stood his ground. The shouting started again, the same words as before. Still not understanding, Isaac stayed as he was. There was the soft _thwip_ again, and Isaac was thrown to the floor as something impacted against his shoulder, piercing the skin and lodging itself firmly in his muscle tissue. Isaac screamed in pain as the object seemed to burn inside him. The pain was such that his Psynergy refused to focus, unable to find the wound accurately. Unable to bear the pain much longer, Isaac blacked out.

* * *

Observing from the side, the exchange has seemed bizarre to Alex, but the shouted words carried a slight meaning. He could not understand them directly, but somehow sensed their meaning. Not wishing to annoy the voice as Isaac had done, Alex stayed on the floor, and felt as though he should hold his hands above his head. This seemed to appease the voice, as it spoke quieter now. Again, Alex could not discern exactly what had been said, but felt as though they were not meant for him, as shapes seemed to coalesce out of the light. The lead shape stopped in front of him. Alex blinked repeatedly, his vision clearing slightly. The shape had the proportions of a fully grown man, but was much short, like those dwarves he had seen in Loho when he stayed there to prepare for his trip across the mountains to Vale. The dwarf was holding a strange contraption in both hands, the right hand on some kind of vertical grip, and the left supporting a tube. The dwarf's left hand let go of the tube, reached behind his back and pulled out what appeared to be a cuboid, resting across the top of his fist. There was a flash, and Alex felt a stabbing pain in his thigh, though this suddenly didn't matter. The pain dulled, and Alex smiled. Everything was fine. It was all so fine that he felt like he could sleep right here. His vision swirled, his eyes shut, and his last waking memory was someone twisting him onto his stomach and pulling his arms behind his back.


	5. Harsh Reality

Apologies for the wait, this chapter veers off at a tangent, but we'll return to the fates of the others soon enough. A character of my own creation, so I hope you like her. Anyway, enjoy!

**4 Years Ago...**

"Wake up scum!"

The harsh bellow dragged Pippa from her dreams, her last true sanctuary from the cold stone that made her prison. Captured by slavers at the age of 15, her parents' blood leaking out into the mud, Pippa had spent the last 2 years of her life in stone box. Her black and red hair, a perfect merger of her parents', had been caked in dirt for almost as long as her imprisonment. Fed twice, maybe three times a week if she was lucky, combined with not being allowed out of her prison, her limbs had wasted away to skin and bone, and she had long since forgotten how to walk. This is how the slavers curbed any desires of escaping. After all, how can it be possible to escape when the prisoner is incapable of as much as a crawl?

"I said, WAKE UP!" the shout came again. A key turned in a lock, and the narrow portal scraped open on rusty hinges. Pippa looked up in time to see a boot descending into her back. She screamed as pain shot through her body, and curled up in a foetal ball to protect herself from further punishment. The guard reach down, and lifted her malnourished form easily with one hand.

"Our leader commands your presence, be pleased that you get fresh air, filth like you doesn't deserve such a liberty." The guard spat bitterly, dragging her effortlessly from her cell. Outside, she was thrown cruelly into the back of a waiting wagon and left. The guard walked to the front and took the reins. The next ten minutes was spent in a sun-blinded trance for Pippa. The wagon shook her from side to side initially, but eventually the ground smoothed out, and, though the trip had been short, it had been tiring for Pippa, who slowly felt herself falling asleep again.

Pippa woke up much more gently than first time around. She was still in the wagon, but had woken naturally. Feeling more refreshed than she had for a very long time, Pippa sat up and looked around at her surroundings. The wagon had stopped in front of a straight vertical face of a mountain which housed the small community.

"_I knew this was coming, I should have tried to escape, and maybe they'd have killed me. I don't want to face this." _She thought. Reaching up, she held onto the side barrier of the wagon, and tried to pull herself up. Immediately, she was worn out. Having not moved at all, she broke down and cried, a quiet sobbing more familiar with small children than seventeen year olds.

Minutes passed like hours, until finally, more guards arrived. Two of them picked her up gently by the shoulders, and carried her into a cave carved into the face of the mountain. The sudden transfer from light to dark left Pippa's eyes scorched as she was carted to her fate. After a while, her sight returned. Glancing left and right, she noticed planks of wood constructed into crude doors every few metres.

"Eyes forward, peasant." One of the guards carrying her had noticed her inquisitiveness. Pippa looked down at the floor passing beneath her.

"Halt." A voice in front of her called. The small company stopped, and Pippa looked up. Ahead, the corridor they had been walking down terminated in a flat wall. A door had been placed over a hole in the rock face, guarded by two large men, their spears crossed, blocking access to the door.

One of the men walked towards Pippa. Reaching out, he held her by the chin and lifted her face to the light from the torches. He grunted as if assured she was who had been expected. He turned and walked back to the door, knocking on it twice.

"Bring her in." A voice called from the other side of the door. The guards glanced back at Pippa, as if unsure that they should. The guard holding her let out an exasperated sigh and walked to the door. He opened the door, and threw her inside roughly. Slamming the door, her turned and walked back down the tunnel. Pippa lay on the floor, her forearms grazed from her journey to the floor via mid-air. Looking up, she found herself in a large plush room. Gold silk drapes with strange lettering embroidered into them hung around the ceiling. Red cushions adorned every piece of furniture. A large purple bed emblazoned with an icon of a phoenix sat against the far wall. A small man, barely half the size of the guards at his door, was sat at a desk facing away from Pippa. He was lighting candles with a slow match, letting the smoke billow out into the room. He turned to Pippa, and gazed sympathetically at her.

"Poor child. My men have not been treating you very well, have they?" He sighed. Pushing his chair back, he stood up and walked over to her. He bent low of lifted her up delicately. Walking to the bed, he laid her down gently on it.

"My name is Lazcano, I know yours. It's Pippa, correct?" He walked back to the lit candles on the desk, and brought them to the bed. He sat next to her and pulled her into a seated position.

"Here, breathe the smoke." He said, holding a candle under her head. The smoke enveloped her face, making her eyes water. She tried to hold her breath, but had to give in quickly. She inhaled deeply. Her vision immediately blurred; the stinging in her eyes forgotten.

"That's it; let the smoke ease the pain. You'll feel better for it."

Pippa couldn't hear him anymore, his voice a distant murmur. He laid her back down on the bed, leaning over her.

"Yes, I'm glad I waited, you've definitely grown up a lot in just 2 years."

At that moment, Lazcano and Pippa were thrown across the room, landing in a crumpled heap against Lazcano's desk. Pippa was knocked out cold, but Lazcano was still conscious. Disentangling himself from Pippa, he rushed outside to find out what was happening.

The men guarding Lazcano's room were picking themselves off the ground as he charged through the door.

"Don't tell me those idiots over the mountain attacked us again!" Lazcano shouted at them.

"No sir, no one would be stupid enough to try again. It felt more like an earthquake." The guard pointed out. _"Of course it was earthquake, you fool. Why did he think it was_ _our enemies? I don't even remember how he became leader." _He added, in his head.

"Well, don't just stand there! We've got to check the others!" Lazcano rushed down the corridor, the guards following him closely. Lazcano slowed down at the entrance, blinking away the afterglow. The village had practically crumpled, the earthquake simply knocking the wooden shacks over. People everywhere were scrambling over shattered homes, carrying what little they could. Others were not so lucky. The quake had been indiscriminate in its destruction, flattening homes whether they were occupied at the time or not. Some people had died when their houses had fallen on them; others lay alive with limbs crushed beneath the mass of wood they had once called home.

Lazcano gazed at the devastation around him, and saw only the utter collapse of all his dreams. A low rumble shook him from his reverie. Lazcano turned, and saw what seemed to be a huge dust cloud charging down the mountain. The guard's eyes widened in shock as they realised what it was, then turned tail and fled. Lazcano could only stand still as hundreds of tonnes of rocks poured down the mountain, shattering the remnants of the village and Lazcano with it.

Inside the mountain, Pippa was waking up. The rock slide outside had been nothing worse than a slight rumble in Lazcano's room, and had served only to lift Pippa out of her dreams. She looked around, and on noticing Lazcano was missing, rested her head back on her arm and fell asleep again.


End file.
